The invention relates generally to firearms, and, more particularly, to a cartridge feed device for a repeating firearm.
When position designations, like xe2x80x9cabovexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cin front ofxe2x80x9d or the like are used in the following, it is assumed that the described weapon is held in the normal firing position, in which the barrel lies horizontally. xe2x80x9cForwardxe2x80x9d then points in the direction of shooting. As used herein, the phrase xe2x80x9caxis of the borexe2x80x9d is understood to mean the longitudinal axis of the barrel, which coincides with the longitudinal direction of the weapon.
In conventional automatic weapons employing a clip magazine, the uppermost cartridge in the magazine is forced from below against the closed breech. When the breech is opened, the uppermost cartridge moves slightly upward, where it is held by at least one magazine lip. Subsequently, the cartridge is grasped on the bottom by the closing breech and pushed forward. When pushed forward, the projectile of the cartridge mounts an oblique surface. The cartridge reaches the cartridge chamber after passing over a flat, upwardly directed S curve. The transfer position in the magazine thus coincides with the feed position in front of the cartridge chamber. The flatter the oblique surface, the longer the zone accommodating the oblique surface must be. Also, the steeper the oblique surface, the greater the mechanical load the projectile will experience during transfer of the cartridge. Additionally, the larger the cartridge diameter, the longer the zone accommodating the oblique surface must be. A significant increase in the total length of the weapon is, therefore, produced for cartridges with overall large dimensions and a sensitive projectile.
For these reasons, conventional shotguns employ a tubular magazine arranged parallel to their barrel instead of an ordinary bar magazine. In such weapons, the lowermost cartridge of the tubular magazine is pushed at the end of the magazine onto a loading spoon situated beneath the breech. The loading spoon swivels upward with the cartridge when the breech is opened. When the breech closes, the cartridge is pushed upward over the flat slope of the loading spoon and is pushed into the cartridge chamber linearly, although sloped obliquely to the barrel axis. The fact that the loading spoon also requires a zone extending over the length of the cartridge is still a shortcoming. A tubular magazine is generally also essential in this type of feed device.
On the other hand, in feed devices for advancing a cartridge, a space is required between the open breech and the rear edge of the barrel. This space may only slightly exceed the length of the cartridge. Prior art feed devices employing this approach are also the most gentle for the projectile, because the cartridge is initially brought to the same height as the cartridge chamber and then pushed into the chamber by the breech. The projectile then does not touch any part of the weapon. These feed devices were employed in the early days of automatic weapons (Vetterli, Henry), but have since been forgotten. In this type of device, a lifting block is provided behind a tubular magazine. The lifting block can be moved transversely to the magazine and has a receiving hole for a cartridge. When the breech is closed, this receiving hole is flush behind the tubular magazine so that the uppermost cartridge can be pushed rearward into the receiving hole, which, thus, forms a transfer station. If the breech is opened, the fired cartridge is first ejected and then, with the breech almost open, the lifting block is moved upward so that the cartridge now sits precisely behind the cartridge chamber in its feed station. On closure of the breech, the breech enters the receiving hole from the rear and pushes the cartridge directly into the cartridge chamber. Immediately before closure of the breech, the lifting block retracts downward. Since the receiving hole has a slit on the top corresponding to the width of the breech, the lifting block can be moved downward, even when the breech passes through the receiving hole.
These prior art feed devices are not without problems because the mushroom head must have a smaller diameter than the receiving hole if one wishes to exploit the aforementioned advantage of minimal design length of the weapon. Moreover, as in the aforementioned feed device with the loading spoon, a tubular magazine is generally required. However, in a tubular magazine the cartridges are supported with their bottom on the projectile of the subsequent cartridge. This arrangement can cause damage to the projectiles. Additionally, rapid advance of the cartridge is generally only possible when the cartridges are advanced in succession, say in a belt, a clip magazine or the like. Replaceable tubular magazines have been known from the earliest days of automatic weapons, but have not proven themselves at all.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a cartridge feed device having a transfer station, an intermediate station, and a feed station is provided. The transfer station is arranged beneath or next to the intermediate station. The cartridge feed device includes a feed mechanism which functions to release a cartridge from the transfer station and to convey the released cartridge to the intermediate station. The cartridge feed device also includes a lifting device which can be moved longitudinally in the direction of the axis of the bore and which is arranged to grasp the cartridge in the intermediate station before lifting the cartridge to the feed station.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a cartridge feed device is provided for use with a repeating small arm which is equipped with a barrel and a moveable breech. The cartridge feed device includes a magazine to feed cartridges from below or from the side. It also includes a transfer device to release and convey the fed cartridge to an intermediate station. The cartridge feed device also includes a lifting device to convey the cartridge from the intermediate station to a feed station wherein the cartridge is located behind the cartridge chamber of the barrel. The lifting device is movable in the direction of the barrel axis and underpins the cartridge in the intermediate station.